All together, more than 500 musical instruments made from clay, outstanding both in quantity and quality, were unearthed from the tombs. Experts believe they have found one of the best and most complete sets of musical instruments from the Warring States Period, and like to compare the tombs with the Mausoleum of Marquis Yi of Zeng State (around 433BC), famous for its Zeng Houyi Bells, the largest set of bronze bells excavated in the world, and its stone chimes.

Among the discoveries was a set of musical instruments with no documentation. Experts named these Serial Bells after the instruments' bell-like shape.

Music historians, meanwhile, were even more ecstatic at the discovery of what they believed to be a long lost musical instrument called "fou," an ancient percussion instrument made of clay, which was popular during the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476BC) and the Warring States Period. Sima Qian, the great Han Dynasty (206BC-220AD) historian, once mentioned the "fou" in his The Records of the Historian.

Three pieces of "fou" were unearthed, each with three feet on the base. Each has elaborate engravings of a pair of bas-relief sculptures of lizards crawling around the rim and a pair of snakes crawling on the edge of the jar-like body, each with a pair of large ears.

To the uninitiated, the three glazed porcelain pieces with a beautiful sound could easily be taken for ordinary water containers, a jar, or a basin made of clay.

It's the first time that the existence of the fou was confirmed. Other instruments full of southern Chinese flavor have also been discovered at the site, with experts saying all the discoveries provide precious information about the musical history of the region and the period.

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